Alone
by chimney leaf
Summary: Stood atop the world as its last line of defence, Gohan is alone, except for the people united behind him, including one special girl. Future timeline, Gh/Vi.


Gohan spat the blood out of his mouth violently. The coppery taste was familiar, so familiar in fact that it barely registered. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he stared at the abominations in front of him.

He had come to the conclusion that they were probably created from human beings, but now they were nothing of the sort. They were disgusting, vile creatures, but through no fault of their own. He pitied them; or rather he pitied those two poor children that had been transformed into these things. Whenever their paths crossed he always tried to make sure he got a glimpse of their eyes, tried to ensure that for at least one split-second he made eye contact. Perhaps there was still a trace of humanity left in them; sadly he had never seen it in their cold, mirthless eyes.

Around him were dozens of dead bodies, men and women of all ages. None of them deserved to die like this. He felt his anger rising, his power along with it.

It wasn't enough though, and he knew it never would be. The only reason he had remained alive to this day was because they hadn't decided to kill him yet. He knew that he was as strong as his father had ever been in life; in fact he was quite sure that he had far surpassed his father in strength.

But this power, this supposedly _legendary_ power was worthless. It was pathetic, it was weak, it was _nothing_ compared to these things. But if his father were still alive, even if he wasn't strong enough to destroy them, he would at least know some way to at least have a chance. Goku wasn't a smart man, but as a warrior and strategist he was almost unparalleled, and Gohan knew that he would have been able to find a way to defeat their enemy. Be it a new technique or training method, Goku would have had the answer.

Despite his at times turbulent upbringing, Gohan was a thinker, not a fighter. At least the idea of the time machine had come out of that facet of his personality. If Goku couldn't be contacted now, why not travel to the past?

But for now, all Gohan could do was wait. The actual building of the time machine had to be left to Bulma, he had other things to be taking care of.

Whenever he heard about one of their attacks, he didn't rush over there to try to stop or defeat them, his only role was to serve as a distraction. If just a single person escaped, any injury he received was worth it. Sadly this time he had been too late and his broken arm was in vain.

The boy rushed him, but Gohan anticipated his movements. Thankfully they had been built with almost no propensity for creativity in their fighting. It was one advantage Gohan had over them. Even though he was dwarfed in terms of power, their carelessness and general lack of real skill meant he could on occasion keep one step ahead of them.

The young saiyan darted to the side; luckily the girl was standing still leaving the fighting up to its 'brother' and wasn't interfering. As the monster turned, Gohan headed straight at it, reaching out for his enemy's neck. It was a foolish move; it wasn't wise to get quite so close to these things.

But damn it, he was _angry_, and just once, he wanted to damage one of them. Maybe any real physical damage was beyond him, but if he could just deal a blow to its pride, he'd be happy. If he saw fear in those eyes, if only for a moment, he could die a happy man.

He felt like his anger would rip him apart, it was excruciating. Firmly he began to tighten his vice-like grip around its neck, its hands coming up to prise the fingers from its body.

Gohan looked at its sickening smile, it obviously thought he wouldn't be able to hold on once it decided to throw him off. Gohan felt its cold fingers on his own, but he wouldn't let go, not this time. If it took every piece of strength in his being, he would show these things that they weren't untouchable, and they certainly weren't invincible.

Upon realising it couldn't lever the saiyan's fingers from its neck, it began to pound mercilessly on his face, its fists bruising and breaking the handsome face. The two fell to the ground, and Gohan managed to find his way on top, even as it continued its beating. This was the first time that he had welcomed the male's physical viciousness, the girl would have just blasted a hole through his stomach by now.

Gohan wondered if perhaps he was unnerving it, he knew he had a slight smile on his face and his eyes were locked with its own, waiting for some sort of flash to cross them.

An almost inaudible crack found its way to Gohan's ears, and his smile widened. He wasn't sure if it was natural bone or artificial metal, either way he didn't care. He gained a second wind of energy and tightened his grip further, more cracks following, some of them from bones in his own face however.

There it was! The attacks on his face and upper body became even more frenzied, and Gohan saw it, just for a second. Fear and panic were visible in its eyes. It turned to the girl and Gohan knew his moment was over; it was just as well really. Now that his goal had been reached, all of his energy was fading from his body.

The kick came into his ribcage, winding him in the process. He was sent flying twenty feet, landing roughly on the relatively soft rubber mulch of what had once been a playground.

"He had you there Seventeen." Gohan heard the girl speak; looking over at the young male she had just kicked. "Good thing you asked for help when you did."

"I never asked for your help." The boy hissed.

"Then why did you look at me like you were about to cry?"

"I was about to tell you not to interfere! He was weakening."

"Who cares? I was getting bored just standing around. Are you so weak that you had to wait for his energy to fade?"

"I don't know what it was, but he seemed a little stronger than usual. I just wasn't using enough of my power."

"Whatever…" The two of them were distracted by the sound coming from boy, who was now on his hands and knees, spitting out yet more blood. He was a horrific sight, blood was gushing from his mouth and nose and numerous bruises were already beginning to show.

"Is he _laughing_?" Asked the boy, too surprised to be angry.

"Must be laughing at you." The girl chuckled.

In fact, Gohan was laughing at an absurd thought that he had just had. He had realised that one of his life's goals had just been reached. In what kind of world was it normal for a sixteen-year-old boy's only real goal in life to be the aim of damaging a monster that was terrorizing a planet?

It wasn't his only goal, there were lots of things that he wanted to see, many things that he wanted to do, but this one, perhaps the most ridiculous on the surface, was probably the least absurd considering the world that he lived in.

What hope did he ever have of going to university, of the first kiss with his first love, of having a family? Peace? That was nothing but a pipe dream, at least in his lifetime. One day though, he knew these fiends would get their comeuppance from something or someone. But for now, he knew all he could do was wait to die.

A shadow fell over him. "Should we just kill him?" A monotone female voice questioned.

"One day…" Gohan croaked out.

"What?" Asked the male.

Gohan chuckled; his words would either incite them or make them laugh. "One day…you'll be destroyed. You'll be nothing. It doesn't matter if you kill me or not. Someone _will_ be there to remove you from this earth."

It was laughter this time. "Our energy is limitless, our skills unsurpassed! Nothing will _ever_ touch us."

"My right hand begs to differ."

"You got lucky this time _Gohan_. I won't be so careless next time."

"So, should we kill him? I don't think it would be wise to let him live too much longer."

"No, let him wallow in self-pity." Gohan could almost hear the sneer present in its voice. "Killing these humans isn't going to get anymore interesting. At least Gohan brings something new to the table every now and then."

Gohan couldn't hear the last few words properly, the ringing in his ears took care of that, but he didn't have to be able to hear to know what they were talking about. It was always the same thing; they'd beat him to a pulp, usually unconscious, debate whether or not to kill him and leave him for any survivors to find.

Consciousness was leaving him, the remaining strength on his arms and legs dwindling to nothing. He was already out cold before the vicious stomp from the boy came crashing down on his skull.

Four hours later, Gohan came around, lying in the same spot where he had fallen. There were no survivors left in this particular city to find and take care of him.

Just getting to a sitting position was a struggle. His left arm was definitely broken, probably a few ribs and his mother probably wouldn't recognise his face for all the cuts and bruises.

Ah, his mother…he hadn't seen her for almost two years. He assumed it was two years, but in truth he wasn't really sure. He didn't even know if he was even sixteen, it was more of an assumption than anything. Times and dates didn't matter much to the people anymore, least of all to him.

Looking around he saw a swing set, a simple reminder of a happier time. Gohan rose gingerly and hobbled over to it. Gently he set himself upon it, cautious of it falling apart under his weight.

Softly he applied pressure to the playground's surface, pushing the seat backwards. The chains creaked and groaned in protest, but held firm. Upon lifting his feet the swing slowly swayed backwards and forwards.

A tear escaped his eye. These children's toys had probably not been used for seven years.

Deciding that this was as good a place as anywhere to wait until nightfall, Gohan began swinging higher and higher.

Darkness eventually approached, and Gohan decided it would be best to move now. It would be wise to get his injuries looked at before they left any lasting damage or any infections could set in.

The town that he was in was formerly known as Ginger Town, it was precisely halfway between East Capital and Orange Star. If he returned to East Capital he'd have to visit Bulma. If he visited Bulma she'd try to force him to see his mother. She didn't understand why he couldn't go back there.

Every time he left, it could be the last time he would see her. If he never went back, he'd never have to deal with the difficult emotions of leaving again. It was irrational, and he knew that. But somehow it made sense to him. It was best not to involve his mother in all of this. Bulma had suggested moving Chichi and the Ox King into Capsule Corporation, but Gohan had argued against it. Having all of his loved ones in one place was not a smart idea.

Master Roshi, Puar and Oolong were safe in that submarine. His mother and grandfather were well out of harm's way out in the countryside. The underground bunker at Capsule Corporation hid Bulma, Trunks and all of the other friends he had in East Capital. There were others too, people that he cared for deeply, all spread across the globe in various shantytowns and secret places.

It would have to be Orange Star. Looking at his injuries he realised that Bulma would only worry her head off and probably contact his mother. Besides, there was that girl in Orange Star.

She was so pushy, quite annoying really. Whenever he was over there, she'd bug him to train her, to teach her to fly. Didn't she realise that she was nothing compared to them? They'd kill her as soon as look at her. No matter how much training she did she'd never be of any use in a fight, no human on the planet would be. She thought that because he could do all of those incredible things that anyone should be able to. He hadn't told her that he wasn't a human; he couldn't have people looking at him the way they looked at _them_.

As hard as it was to admit, there would only be one person joining this fight. Gohan was sure that Vegeta would want Gohan to make Trunks all he could be. One day that boy would probably be in the same position as he was in now. Trunks was the _last _line of defence, the very last hope for humanity. That thought sickened Gohan, but somewhere deep down he knew that Trunks would bring about the downfall of these abominations.

Gohan was sure that he would be dead by the time the time machine was finished; Trunks would have to be the one to return to the past and find the solution to this mess. Gohan was sure that he would return with the knowledge or ability to destroy them.

Orange Star was definitely his only option for the moment. Despite her pushiness and the fact that her demands for training generally only led to arguments, Gohan desperately hoped to run into that girl. There was something comforting about being around her.

Upon his arrival, Gohan was met with open arms from the residents of the underground society that resided in Orange Star. He was a hero, people thought of him as their saviour. That pressure on his shoulders was growing. He couldn't give himself the excuse that he was a kid anymore, even though that's what others told him all the time; nothing more could be expected from him.

The responsibility of protecting these citizens was almost solely on him. The brave souls that planned and carried out the movements of people and the stockpiling of rations were the heartbeat of it all, but without that young boy running interference, it was all for nought.

He shuffled over to a ripped couch, men supporting him on both sides. He must have been shakier on his feet than he had felt. His eyelids felt heavy, but he heard a voice next to him, trying to keep him awake. He smiled at that person; it was Videl.

"A doctor will be here to see you soon, try to stay awake."

"Mm-hmm." He couldn't even form words. His time spent unconscious on the playground floor had obviously not given his body much time to recuperate.

"Hey! I told you not to go to sleep."

Gohan forced his eyes open for her benefit, if not his own. He looked at her, struggling to focus.

"Fine, they're open." He said, his speech slurred.

"You look awful, I've never seen your face so bad."

"Gee, thanks. You should see the other guy though." Gohan felt someone prodding around on his body. "Oh, hiya doc. Nice to see ya."

"Good to see you too, I just wish it were under better circumstances." His legs were gently lifted, and Gohan felt a presence over his shoulders too, he was being put onto a stretcher. The weight of his eyelids won over his resolve, and he knew he wouldn't be waking for another few days.

The left eye opened first; surprisingly it felt like it was open all the way. He wasn't so lucky with the right, the swelling preventing it from getting more than halfway.

Without moving his head or neck he scanned the room. He was alone save for one person, who was currently sat cross-legged on a green armchair beside his bed, reading a torn and tatty paperback, her long pigtails grazing the pages. It seemed as though she hadn't noticed that he had woken up.

"Good book?"

Her eyes shot up, finding his. A smile graced her face. "Not too bad. It's bit farfetched though. It's about an alien that terrorises the earth."

"Fancy that, huh?" It was good to make jokes, but for some it was still too hard.

"How are you feeling?" She asked tentatively.

"Not well enough to teach you how to fly."

"I wasn't even going to ask! The doctor's already warned me not to." She pouted.

"So you would have asked if he hadn't told you not to?"

"Who knows? Probably. Tell me again why you won't teach me?"

"Tell me again why you want to fight against them?" It was a rhetorical question. "Tell me why you want to throw your life away?"

"Look, if you can do those things, what's stopping anyone else? Why won't you let anyone help you? Why are you so stubborn?"

"_You're_ asking _me_ why I'm so stubborn? You're the most obstinate person I've ever met, and that includes my mother." He looked at her pleading eyes. He smiled a weary smile; maybe he should just tell her, it might get her off his back. "No one else can help me. There's no one else like me, I'm different to you people."

"What makes you think you have anymore right to defend this planet than anyone else? Every human alive wants the power to destroy them." She stood, anger flashing in her eyes.

Gohan sighed. "I'm not human."

The girl sat back down again. "You're not like…_them_?" She whispered. Her eyes were difficult to read; maybe it was for the best. Gohan didn't want to see the disgust that he was certain would be present.

He swallowed. "No, I'm not like them. My father was an alien."

"Oh. That explains the transformation thing I guess." Her mouth was gaping like a goldfish.

Gohan laid his head back on the pillow. "Now do you understand?" She nodded her head slowly. "Have there been any reports on their whereabouts since I turned up here? Where were they last reported?"

"Only about twenty minutes ago I heard they were over at West City. You'd better not be thinking about heading over there." She seemed to be out of her daze.

"No, that's on the other side of the world. I'd never get there in time." That thought caused him considerable pain. He'd have to ask those people for their understanding and forgiveness. "On the other hand, that means they won't be able to get over here in the next few hours. Will you take me to the roof? I need to see the surface."

"If you're sure, but you're going in the wheelchair." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." As she went to fetch the chair he slowly rose from the bed, throwing the covers off his body. A bandage was wrapped tightly around his ribcage, a splint was attached to his arm and he could feel stitches running down the left side of his face, from below his eye down to his chin. Gently he ran a finger down its length.

"You know, chicks dig scars."

"It's a shame that you're not a 'chick' then, isn't it?" He used air quotes when he said chick.

"What do you mean by _that_? Do I not register as a girl with you?"

"No! I just meant that…you know…I thought you wouldn't _want_ me to think of you that way."

Videl frowned at him. What was he trying to pull? She realised there was a compliment of sorts, maybe even a flirtatious remark in there somewhere. Was he suggesting that he _liked_ her?

"What are you doing up anyway, I said we'd go in the chair!"

"OK, I couldn't expect you to lift me into it could I? I'm feeling fine anyway, there's nothing wrong with my legs after all."

"I guess you being sort of an alien explains how you recover so easily from such serious wounds."

"It comes in handy." Gohan would have preferred an endless supply of senzu beans though.

Gohan shuffled into the chair. He could feel her eyes looking him up and down. "You look pretty thin, are you eating well?"

"I'm fine thanks, _mother._" It was true that he had struggled to find enough nutrition on occasion, and his physique may have suffered a little. Even so, he was as strong as he had ever been, probably even stronger now after his recovery.

"I'm just trying to look out for you. After you've had your fun on the roof, we'll get you fixed up with a decent meal."

The ride up to the roof was as unexciting as expected. Gohan felt pathetic being wheeled around like a cripple, but it felt sort of nice to be taken care of once in a while. Numerous kids ran up to him, asking all sorts of questions. Thankfully Videl kept them at bay, warning them not to hurt the poor boy.

Once they had reached the roof of the shelter, away from the safety of being underground, Gohan felt as though he could relax properly. Being underground was always an uncomfortable feeling for him.

Gohan pushed himself to his feet, despite the girl's protests.

"I'm fine, I'll lean on the rail." They were on top of a nine-storey building, all of those storeys completely empty. Only the elevator was in use in the aboveground portion of the building.

Gohan looked out across Orange Star. This was one of the few buildings that were still standing. This city had been attacked as much as any other. The dark-haired girl stood beside him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"I almost had it." He spoke cryptically.

"Almost had what?"

"I had my hand around that thing's neck." Gohan reached his hand out, closing it around something unseen by the girl. "If only my other arm hadn't been broken, I might have had a chance."

"Wait! You almost destroyed one of them?"

"Not really, but for one moment, I made it feel fear. I could feel its neck breaking. For that one moment, I felt as though maybe we really do have a chance. None of it matters though. Even if my other arm had been fine, I didn't have enough energy to deal a killing blow. And besides, the other one would have just finished me off anyway, and then probably just destroyed everything on the planet. Maybe it was for the best." Gohan smiled a wide grin and looked at the girl. "But now I know that they _do_ have a weakness, they _aren't_ invulnerable."

"So you think that you'll be able to kill them." She asked, being careful not to sound too hopeful.

Gohan laughed. "No, not a chance."

"Then what do you mean? You always speak in riddles."

"When I said I was alone, that I was the only one like me, I lied. There is another, but he's nowhere near ready yet."

"Who is he?"

"His father was like my father. They're both dead too by the way, just like everyone else."

"You think he'll be able to kill them?"

"Probably not if we continue on the path we're on now. There's a plan though; it's nothing really. It's best that you don't know anything about it. But he's just a child, and it _kills_ me that one day I'm going to have to call on him to step up." Videl could see tears forming in his eyes. "I'm beginning to feel like I can't go on anymore, all I'm doing is prolonging my death. I haven't been properly alive since these things came. I feel as though I could _snap_ at any second; I'm alone and I'm almost broken. And the fact that I'm pinning all of my hopes on an eight-year-old boy just makes things even worse. I'm just a joke."

Tears were streaming from his eyes. Videl placed her arm around his shoulders. She knew that he moved around a lot, that he never settled in one place for long. He probably had no one to talk to.

"I can't handle this pressure, I'm too weak to be of any real use to anyone. If only I could find more strength from somewhere…but I'm just so _tired_."

"You don't have to shoulder all of the responsibility alone."

"I told you, there's no way I can train-"

"I don't mean that. Why don't you stay here? If not here, then somewhere else? Just _rest_ for a while. You don't always have to be moving, you don't always have to be alone."

Gohan closed his eyes trying to stop the flow of tears. He wasn't embarrassed, but crying was something he thought he was over. But he'd done so twice in the last few days, his emotions must have been running high.

He felt the soft skin of her fingers stroking at the back of his neck. He turned to face her, his face now a picture of stoicism, save for the two tracks still visible on his cheeks.

"You're not alone. We're all in this together. I don't think you realise just what people think of you. The religious types and the kids think that you're an angel. The others aren't quite so sure who you are or where you came from, but we all know that without you we'd probably all be dead. If you knew what the girls want to do to you…"

Gohan chuckled nervously. "Maybe it's best if I don't know."

She stroked the left side of his face, being careful not to aggravate the wound with the stitches. "Without you, I think most people would have given up years ago. You're the hope of this world. I understand that it must be an unfathomable feeling, but you have to understand that we're stood right behind you."

He nodded. "Videl, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She beamed up at him, trying to get him into a good mood.

"What date is it today?"

"May 10th."

"Oh." That would mean..."Tomorrow's my birthday I think."

"Really? You have to stay then, not that I'd let you go in your condition anyway."

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Don't even think about a party or anything stupid like that."

"Come on, it'll be fun. You can't deny these guys the chance for a celebration?" She was going for the guilt-trip.

"They don't have to know."

"You'll never be able to prevent me telling everyone. How old will you be anyway?"

Gohan scratched his chin. He was fairly certain he would be turning seventeen. "Seventeen, I think."

"You mean you're not sure?" She scrunched her face up, how could someone forget how old he or she was?

"I lost count…"

"Well, come on kiddo, we'd better get you back inside." She joked.

"What do you mean, _kiddo_?"

"_I'm_ seventeen already. You're still a baby compared to me." The girl teased.

"No, I'm really eighteen, I promise!"

"No way, you've had your chance. You'll be turning seventeen tomorrow whether you like it or not."

--

Gohan pulled his carefully shirt over the bandages that still covered his body. It had been a week since he had arrived here. His clothes had been repaired and washed, he had taken a nice long bath for the first time in what seemed like months, and most importantly he had been well fed.

"Be careful when you're flying."

"OK."

"Go and see your mother."

"OK."

"Watch what you're eating."

"OK."

"Come and see me." Gohan looked up. "I mean us! Come and see _us_."

Gohan smiled. "Sure."

Whenever he had looked at her over the past week he had been reminded of those foolish dreams that he held on to. Was there a chance that even one of those dreams could be fulfilled?

As the two of them walked to the exit of the bunker, a large crowd gathered to follow, all wishing to see him off. Lots of young kids were present, probably allowed to stay up past their bedtimes just this once by their parents. If they had any that is.

All of the large security doors were opened and all that was left was the wooden flap that covered the secret entrance. Gohan turned back to the large group that had assembled.

"Thank you for your hospitality everyone. I'm grateful to you all." An assortment of cheers, shouts and mumbles were heard in reply. "I guess this is it?" He spoke only to the girl by his side; he seemed to have been fully adopted by her now.

"Like I said, don't forget to come and see us. Come and see me." She blushed.

He nodded, thinking of one of his dreams in particular. His first kiss with his first love. Perhaps it was nothing but a pipe dream, but surely he deserved something from his life.

He grabbed her face and crushed his lips to her own. A cacophony of hollers and whoops could be heard. He felt her stiffen, but after a moment she relaxed. Her hands came up to his, gently making contact.

After a few more seconds he pulled away, but her hands held on to his.

"I have to go." She nodded, remaining mute. She released his hands. "I promise I'll be back." She laughed, but she could feel tears developing. Videl had seen enough movies where someone says that and then goes and gets themselves killed. "Bye everyone!" He shouted to the masses. "Goodbye Videl." He whispered to the girl.

"See you Gohan."


End file.
